NAY PYI TAW July 2
Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing met officials of Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and associates at UMFCCI headquarters in Yangon at 9.30 am today and cordially held sector wise discussions on national economic promotion.
Present together with the Senior General were SAC Joint Secretary Lt-Gen Ye Win Oo, SAC members Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun, Deputy Prime Minister Union Minister for Planning and Finance U Win Shein, union ministers Dr Kan Zaw, U Maung Maung Ohn, U Aung Naing Oo, the Yangon Region chief minister, senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, the Yangon Command commander, officials, the Yangon mayor, UMFCCI President U Aye Win and CEC members, officials of associates.
Meeting held to cordially discuss national economic promotion, facilitate future tasks
The Senior General said the meeting is to discuss necessary measures for enhancement of the country’s businesses. Basically, UMFCCI is involved in production, trade and services sectors, which are the base in calculating the GDP. The sectors include industrial enterprises and other businesses. Hence, the meeting is to hold talks on requirements and on fulfilling them. The vision of the national task is for national prosperity and food sufficiency. Prosperity means national peace, happiness and tranquility in doing business and pursuing education in all the urban and rural areas of the entire country.
Efficiently use all kinds of existing resources for food sufficiency and socioeconomic progress
As regards food sufficiency, the country is rich in farming friendly land and water resources and large working age population.
Commodity prices are higher than usual because of the imbalanced ration between demand and supply and high production cost. Low production should not be the cause of the rising prices of basic food items due to imbalanced ration between demand and supply in a country with land and water resources favorable for farming.
Due to the weakness in production sector, some regions and states are not as self-sufficient as they should be despite the fact that they have enough land for farming activities. The country put 14.9 million acres under monsoon paddy this year, but multiple cropping can be conducted only on over six million acres. After the monsoon paddy season ends, other crops including pulses, corn, sesame, sunflowers are cultivated, but multiple cropping cannot be conducted on the remaining over seven million acres. Although regions and states that fail to conduct multiple cropping have enough water resources, they are unable to supply water for the said purpose. If they try to obtain irrigation water and use land effectively, they too will surely enjoy food sufficiency.
Success in farming activities will boost production, and based on the output of raw materials, stocks for local consumption and exports will increase, followed by the development of farming sector, industrial sector and services sector.
Of the above land resources and underground resources of the country, the latter is not renewable. So, a reasonable limit is set for mineral extraction, and minerals should be produced as finished goods, rather than raw materials. The natural formation of underground resources takes many years, but aboveground resources can be renewed by man. For example, forest can be replanted, but it is found that replantation is not actually conducted on the land allowed for regeneration.
If replantation was really carried out on the permitted plots in the past, those plots will be now the sources for forest product exports that are supporting to the national economy.
Efforts for ensuring local oil sufficiency
MSMEs are involved in industries.MSMEs will be operated to produce goods with raw materials available at home.
Agriculture and livestock products which are sure raw materials of the country are being manufactured. Rice mills and oil mills are inclusive of industries.
As Myanmar yields beans and pulses and oil crops, oil mills can be operated. If oil can be produced from groundnut, sesame, nicer, sunflower, horse gram and oil crops at current production rate, the country will have 126.2 percent of oil sufficiency.
In using oil crops, people consume groundnut and sesame traditionally, export them and produce oil. Traditional consumption and export can reduce a half of production of groundnut and sesame volume, lessening the local oil sufficiency.
Hence, if export of oil crops and traditional consumption can be restricted rather than production of oil, it will meet the local oil demand.
In order to solve the domestic oil sufficiency, it is necessary to grow oil crops such as groundnut, sesame and sunflower to meet the target. Research must be done for cultivation of high yield strains. The Senior General stressed the need to use quality strains of crops for high yield, feed necessary volume of fertilizers, make land preparations, supply sufficient water and systematically apply agricultural techniques. Likewise, it is necessary to conduct research on development of agricultural tasks. Myanmar gas 800,000 acres of oil crop plantation, except oil palm. If farmers grow them to meet the target production, the country will have 249.5 percent of oil sufficiency. If so, the country can reduce import of oil. By enhancing the domestic production, State economy will have unprecedented progress.
The Senior General noted that if oil crops groundnut and sesame are used in oil production at home rather than exportation, oil mills can be operated, feedstuffs produced and job generated with local oil sufficiency.
Likewise, it will contribute to transport and services.
As manufacturing from the agricultural sector will remarkably change industrial and service sectors, it is necessary to successfully operate agriculture and livestock farms which are basic businesses for the State. It is necessary to systematically consider export of agricultural produce. Those who attended the ceremony are the most responsible for enhancement of the State economy. The Senior General expressed his anticipation that reports from all sectors will be solutions for State economic promotion. He urged all to emphasize their discussions on enhancement of State economy and benefits of the nation.
Discussions on work progress and requirements in relevant sectors
UMFCCI President U Aye Win reported on current changing of economic sector, saying that UMFCCI met with the Senior General in December 2022 for the first time, and followed the guidance of the Senior General on economic development.
He continued discussions on further development of businesses, cooperation with ministries, seeking solutions for requirements of businesspersons to participate in the efforts of the State in ensuring local oil sufficiency, needs to cooperate in eradicating illegal trade which can harm the domestic manufacturing and economic development, and technical assistance and capital from the State including economic policies for development of the State economy.
President of Myanmar Rice federation U Ye Min Aung, U Tun Lwin for Myanmar Pulses and Beans and Sesame Merchants Association, U Aye Chan Aung and U Phyo Ko Ko Naing for Myanmar Corns Industrial Association, U Thein Myint for Myanmar Livestock Breeding Federation, U Aye Tun for Myanmar Industries Association, Daw Khaing Khaing Nwe for CMP industries, U Tun Win for Myanmar Plastic Entrepreneurs Association, U Aung Shwe for Myanmar Foodstuff Exporter Association, U Hsan Lin for Myanmar Oil Dealers Association, U Khin Soe for Myanmar Oil Millers Association, U Shein Win for Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association, U Yan Win for Myanmar Tourism Federation, Daw Thit Thit Htet for Myanmar International Commodity Service Entrepreneurs Association, U Khin Soe for Myanmar Oil Importer and Distributor Association, Daw Khin Saw Oo for Myanmar Banks Entrepreneurs Association, U Win Htay for Mandalay Region Chambers of Commerce and Industry, U Myint Han of Myanmar Gems Entrepreneurs Association and U Khin Maung Tint for Myanmar Steel Association discussed relevant sectors. They discussed difficulties in agriculture, livestock farming, and industrial production and needs of assistance from the State, connection among businesspersons for purchasing feedstuffs at fair prices if agricultural tasks develop, reform process for manufacturing in livestock breeding sector for local sufficiency at first and export of value-added products instead of finished goods exportation, needs to collectively participate in illegal trade eradication, needs of providing capitals, techniques and policies for development of agriculture and livestock sectors, arrangements for seeking good prices for agriculture and livestock products as well as industrial products abroad, and requirements of tourism, international cargo transport service and banking services. The Senior General made necessary discussions.
Union ministers respond to reports on respective sectors
Concerning the reports of the chairman and central executive committees of the UMFCCI and brotherhood organizations, Member of the SAC Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun and union ministers U Win Shein, Dr Kan Zaw and U Aung Naing Oo discussed efforts made for national economic promotion amid difficulties and restrictions and urged entrepreneurs to correctly utilize loans offered by the government for the economic development of the country at low interest rates for various purposes and to repay them in a timely manner so that capital investment of the country circulates properly, contributing to the economic development. They also discussed matters related to respective sectors including the need to follow import policies adopted by the government and apply for permissions to import
goods smoothly, efforts of the government to boost exports from the agriculture sector and to stabilize prices, measures taken to attract domestic and foreign investment, the need to cooperate in combat against illegal trade carried out by the governments and measures taken by the government to facilitate flow of commodity and money circulation.
As government is taking measures for benefits of country, responsible officials are required to cooperate with government
After hearing the discussions, the Senior General delivered remarks, saying the UMFCCI is a trading organization and trade can be conducted when there are goods to be traded.
In doing so, it is necessary to sell goods in large numbers at reasonable profits while taking the interests of the country into consideration. As the country does not produce some goods and has to rely on imports from other country, it is necessary to boost production in the country.
During the term of the previous Tatmadaw government, they country was not able to receive international loans, which were available during the terms of the two democratic governments.
It can be seen that foreign exchange spending was settled with the loans. It can also be found that the country had to import goods by using foreign exchange earnings from nontrade sectors rather than encouraging domestic production to earn foreign exchange.
Therefore, the government has been encouraging MSMEs to boost production and to substitute imports since it took office.
Measures are being taken to export surplus goods to other countries after fulfilling domestic demands. It is necessary for the UMFCCI to take measures to cooperate in national economic promotion efforts of the government. As the UMFCCI is made up of members who mainly carry out trade and it is an important organization for economic growth of the country, the government held discussions with it by spending sufficient time. It is necessary for responsible officials to review the discussions and the government is ready to offer assistance as much as possible.
As the government is taking measures for the benefits of the country, all responsible officials are required to cooperate with the government. As administrative officials carry out administrative affairs, people in the agriculture and livestock breeding sector produce raw materials and manufacturers produce goods. Traders and producers are urged to take measures for mutual benefit as they have to rely on each other as the former can conduct trade when there are goods to be traded.
Further measures will be taken after reviewing the discussions seriously to carry out tasks for mutual benefit. Arrangements will be made to hold discussions between central executive committee members and officials from brotherhood organizations and union ministers and officials from the respective ministries.
Then, the Senior General said the needs for economic promotion of the country at the meeting today and thanked the participants for discussions and exchange of views by spending sufficient time. The meeting concluded at 3.30 pm.
After the meeting, the Senior General and party cordially greeted central executive committee members of the UMFCCI and officials from the brotherhood organizations.
